


Are you okay?

by Blueishfood



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, MLB, Marichat May 2020, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24235399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueishfood/pseuds/Blueishfood
Summary: “Are you okay?” She didn’t know what had driven her to ask exactly. Maybe the fact that she had wanted to ask for so long, maybe because she forgot just for a second that she wasn’t wearing a red suit.Chat looked a little startled, perhaps it wasn’t expected for a civilian to ask him such a question. Perhaps, she wondered, guilt burying itself deep in the pit of her stomach, he never expected to be asked at all.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 15
Kudos: 135
Collections: Marichat, Miraculous Ladybug





	Are you okay?

**Author's Note:**

> Words: 1,1 K
> 
> Warning(s): Angst, (one swearword)
> 
> A/N: This is my shot at #marichatmay2020, 17′th may, balcony. This wasn’t supposed to turn out this angsty, but my family have endured some losses recently, and my grandpa just got a stroke, so yeah, I guess this is the result of my grief. Artists always work well with the worst feelings though, right?

The night was calm, quiet, even with the occasional flutter of dove wings. Marinette had brought her sketch book to the balcony. She still didn’t know exactly why. It wasn’t like she could see anything inspirational in the crisp autumn air.

She shivered and snuggled further into her usually too warm blanket. Dipping her head to the pages of her book, she tried to see the lines she had sketched out a few days ago.

There hadn’t been much time to satisfy her hobby lately. School was even stressing out Nino, and Marinette had to deal with the frequent akuma attacks as well.

She wondered how Chat was doing with all this. It had been some time since they had sat down after an attack, his schedule tended to be packed, as he said. Apparently, he had a father who made him reach for perfection within every subject his son touched.

He had told her this after a particularly hard week, and Marinette hadn’t had the heart to stop him from sharing the intimate details. He had looked so broken, like he usually held the whole world his bare hands. She had let him put it on her for a few minutes.

Tikki had thrown a fit afterwards, but it had been worth it. Sometimes she wished she could take all his burdens away, he seemed to have too many for such a young person.

She lifted her hips from the chair and pulled the blanket under her. It wouldn’t be long until she drifted inside, she supposed. The deck chair was made for beach days, not freezing nights where the degrees were dipping towards negatives. But it wasn’t time to leave yet, she could keep herself in the cold just a little longer. She needed air nipping at her cheeks and toes, dulling the pain and regret she felt every time she pushed her feelings aside to focus on her duty.

When he came, she didn’t see him. He was swift but soft on the landings, always had been. He whispered her name a few times, but maybe she thought it was her imagination, because she didn’t respond. He was less than a meter from her when blue eyes met green.

She flinched, and Chat dropped to all fours. She wondered if he did it without thinking. He was silent for a few seconds, until she said, “Hi”, so quiet he barely heard it. He smiled in return.

“Are you okay?” His smile wavered and dropped as he spoke to her.

“What?” Marinette asked, “Yes, why?”

He gestured to her, and she definitely took it the wrong way until he stood back up and placed a thumb on her cheek. Her breath hitched, but when he showed his hand, she understood.

Marinette pulled up her sleeve and dried the wetness still present on her cheeks. Her thoughts had wandered, she hadn’t noticed the tears.

“I’m okay”, she said, giving him a frail smile. “Just -uh- school”, she continued when he looked suspicious.

“Right,” he muttered, leaning against the dark railing by her side, “It’s a little hectic.”

“Yeah”, she breathed.

“Are _you_ okay?” She didn’t know what had driven her to ask exactly. Maybe the fact that she had wanted to ask for so long, maybe because she forgot just for a second that she wasn’t wearing a red suit.

Chat looked a little startled, perhaps it wasn’t expected for a civilian to ask him such a question. Perhaps, she wondered, guilt burying itself deep in the pit of her stomach, he never expected to be asked at all.

“I’m-” he looked away from her, eyes blinking, while he swallowed. He tried again, “I am-” he breathed, “fine.”

“You’re not.” His eyes snapped to hers. The silence stretched between them, it looked like he was standing a little further away.

“I don’t- can’t,” he looked at her, eyes searching for something, “You’re a civilian, Marinette”, he sighed, finally, shoulders slumping, head dropping a bit lower. “Had you asked-” He didn’t finish, but she knew what he was trying to say. Had she asked him, had she asked his civilian self, his alter ego, maybe he could have told her.

“Would you have told me?” He didn’t answer, only let out a breath, so she continued; “I always feel a lot braver as-” she stopped, realized what she had started saying and scrambled for an explanation as Chat looked at her like a question mark. “I felt a lot braver as Multimouse than I usually do.” She swallowed the sudden panic, Chat nodded, he understood.

“Yeah.” He ruffled his hair and maybe she was imagining it, but it looked like some tension left his shoulders. “I don’t know Marinette.” His lips tightened into a thin line. He closed his eyes and drew another breath. “I just- I can’t tell you.” The shrug he gave looked a little helpless. “Superhero rules.”

And she knew. She knew the rules, the guidelines, and the stone-cold truth about their lives. She had felt it all, the burden, the world upon both of their shoulders, yet it felt like two different planets, and they had to shoulder them all alone. So when he turned around and made to leave, she almost let him go, a little too used to choosing duty over them, over him.

But fuck duty, she thought, as she flung herself towards him, blanket flying behind her, and buried him in her arms.

First, he froze. Marinette remembered that this wasn’t _her_ partner. This was Ladybug’s partner, and to him, Marinette was a stranger.

But then he started shaking, and she forgot again. She felt the press of his face against the dip of her shoulder, felt his hitching breath moving her wandering strays of hair, and she tightened her arms around him as he sobbed.

She didn’t know his pain, not in the way he deserved, but perhaps she could help him either way.

Maybe for once, she could take his place. She would be his shield, his rock, his shelter, and saviour. He could hold on to her when the walls crumbled. They could build up the pieces together. And maybe this was the first time she felt like he claimed he did. For if she could, she would shield him till the end of time.

If she could, she would, was what she told herself as she let go and he left, hands still not entirely calm on his weapon. But deep down she knew it wasn’t entirely true. For if only somebody else could have chosen, that someone would put him first and duty second. And Marinette knew, when she retreated to her room, that was the reason why she had been chosen and not them.


End file.
